Thursday, October 1, 2026
For some Seaford students, Sept. 1 marked the beginning of their journey through the school district. For others, it marked the beginning of the end.
At Seaford Harbor Elementary School, kindergarten teacher Renee Hauser watched her newest students walk through the doors with bright smiles, new backpacks and the wide-eyed curiosity of children experiencing school for the first time.
Nearly three decades into her career in education, Hauser said that feeling never gets old.
“They walk in with such bright smiles on their faces,” said Hauser, who has spent 30 years in education, including 28 years at Seaford Harbor. “They’re just eager to learn. You can just feel it.”
More than 2,100 students across Seaford’s high school, middle school and two elementary schools began a new year Sept. 1, each entering a different stage of their educational journey.
For the district’s youngest students, that meant learning classroom routines, meeting new friends and beginning to discover what school is all about.
Hauser starts her mornings with a meeting designed to build that sense of community. Students greet one another, sing a good morning song and pass around a ball containing questions about their favorite foods, colors, pets and families.
“They’re just little sponges,” Hauser said. But Hauser’s connection with her students often extends well beyond their first year in her classroom.
During her years at Seaford Harbor, she has taught siblings and, eventually, the children of former students. She has watched former students graduate, pursue careers and return to tell her about the impact she had on their lives.
One former student became a nurse and cared for Hauser’s mother in the hospital years later. Another, she said, now writes for The New York Times. The students sometimes return with cards and letters, Hauser said, and one message comes up repeatedly.
“It’s not what you taught me. It’s how you made me feel,” she said.
That journey from childhood to adulthood is especially visible at Seaford Middle School, where sixth graders arrive at the beginning of a three-year transformation.
Principal Raphael Morey said the middle school works to change the way students think about those years, emphasizing the opportunities that come with becoming more independent.
Sixth graders are adjusting to multiple teachers, changing classes, lockers and new classmates, while also encountering electives, world languages and sports. “They’re ready to socialize,” Morey said. “There’s always a positive energy in the building when, in the first couple days, and we look for every way to maintain that energy as long as possible.”
The transition begins before students officially arrive. Through the district’s summer Bridge program, incoming sixth graders meet their future teammates and teachers, while parents receive an orientation on what to expect.
Morey said the school’s goal is to help students gradually move from the “cocoon” of elementary school toward independence.
And the change can be dramatic. “They come in as babies,” Morey said. “But last year we had men who were like 6 foot 5.” For Morey, watching that transformation is one of the reasons he loves working in education.
“You do it because you love helping kids,” he said. “You love watching the development.”
By the time those students reach Seaford High School, that development is on full display. Senior Jessica Peraino walked into her final first day excited to see friends, meet new classmates and begin her last year before graduation.
A member and drum major of the marching band, Peraino decorated her car with the word “senior” and music notes. She also wore the Class of 2027 T-shirt marking the occasion.
“It’s a little sad because it’s going to be some of the last time I’ll see some of the people in my class,” Peraino said. “But it’s also really exciting to start a new chapter and get ready to go to college.”
Peraino plans to study forensic science, although she has not yet decided where she will attend college. One of her favorite Seaford memories came during her freshman year, when she joined field hockey and older students welcomed the younger players into the group.
“They really took us all, the freshmen, in and just really brought us into the community,” she said. Now, she is looking forward to graduation and making the most of her final year with her classmates.
High School Assistant Principal Alex Mantay has a unique perspective on the Class of 2027. Before becoming an assistant principal, he taught math to many of the students when they were eighth graders. This is now his fifth year alongside the group.
“I do feel kind of a special connection to this senior class because I taught a lot of them in eighth grade,” Mantay said.
He described the students as a “hard-working, kind, very approachable and likable” group and said the first day was filled with positive energy and excitement.
The high school’s first-day activities included meetings with guidance counselors, building administrators and the wellness team, as well as the Seaford Scholars activity. The school is also launching a Virtual Enterprise program this year, allowing students to operate a simulated business and take on corporate roles.
But at Seaford Harbor, the students beginning that journey are still years away from worrying about college, careers or graduation. Hauser recently had a full-circle encounter with one of her new kindergarteners, a child whose older brother she had taught years earlier.
She remembered meeting the boy before he was even born, when his mother was pregnant and attending a conference with his brother.
“I touched Mommy’s belly and I said, ‘Hello in there. I don’t know who you are, but maybe one day you’ll be my future student,’” Hauser recalled.
Years later, he was standing in her classroom.
“Miss Hauser, I heard you,” he told her.
This year’s theme at Seaford Harbor is “Viking Pride Starts With Me: Chart Your Course,” encouraging students and staff to consider how their words and actions affect others while setting goals for the future.
For the kindergarteners, that future is still nearly impossible to imagine. For Peraino and her classmates, it is arriving quickly.
But in between those first and final first days, Seaford educators will watch another generation grow.
“It’s a good year to set a goal to chart your course to the future,” Hauser said.
